Safety self-locking rail joint system



July 18, 1939 A. B. BROLUSKA SAFETY SELF-LOCKING RAIL JOINT SYSTEM Filed Jan. 28, 1937 v 7 Z-nvenigr- Patented July 18, 1939 PATENT OFFICE SAFETY SELF-LOSCKING RAIL JOINT TEM Amel B. Broluska, Detroit, Mich.

Application January 28, 1937, Serial No. 122,715

8 Claims.

My invention relates to rail joints, and its principal object is to provide a rail joint which will withstand the shocks and vibration to which railroad tracks are subjected by the modern high speed trains.

Another object of my said invention is to provide a rail joint which is self-locking and requires no bolts, nuts, or look washers, all of which gradually give way and become loose under heavy duty.

A further object is to provide means in a rail joint for taking care of expansion and contraction due to changes in atmospheric and earth temperautres.

Another object is to provide a rail joint in which hammering and noise incidental to the passing of wheels over joints is eliminated.

Another object is to provide means for effectively supporting the rail members at the joint so as to obviate fiexure of the said members which ordinarily results in fatigue of the metal and breakage of the rail.

Still another object is to provide a rail joint in which side-sway of the rails, due to centrifugal force of trains passing around curves, or to other causes, is prevented.

With these and other objects in view, I will now describe a preferred embodiment of my invention, which is adapted to meet the various conditions to be met with in track construction, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View partly in section of a rail joint constructed in accordance with my invention showing the method of holding the several parts in position and designed to operate on a three-tie system.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figures 4 and 5 disclose modified forms of my inventon.

Like characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, is shown a three tie construction in which the members D and E are flush with the bottom of the rail, and a series of studs 3| are provided on the member D and adapted to fit within cavities 32 in the member E. At the same time, a series of studs 3| are provided upon the member E which fit within cavities 32' within the member D. The studs upon the respective members are arranged in staggered relation so that the members D and E are duplicates one of the other, thus reducing the cost of manufacture. held in position within their respective cavities 32, 32' by molten metal poured through slots 33 which fills the grooves 34 and locks the parts together as will be understood. These studs 3|, 3| extend through longitudinally elongated openings in the rail webs, thereby permitting expansion and contraction of the rails.

In Figure 4, which is a fragmentary sectional view corresponding to Figure 3 but drawn to an enlarged scale, an opening I1" is shown extending through the stud 3| and into the surrounding portion of the cavity 32, so that the metal poured into these openings will present a shearing resistance to separation of the parts. In like manner, the longitudinal grooves H in Figure 5 are shown extending into the adjacent faces of the stud and the surrounding cavity, also presenting shearing resistance.

It will be seen from the foregoing description and by reference to the drawing that I have provided a rail joint in which is combined the maximum possible safety with the minimum cost of installation and maintenance, which is devoid of bolts, nuts, and lock washers, which will withstand shocks and vibration for long periods without breakage or depreciation, which will be practically noiseless in operation, and which will automatically take care of expansion and contraction, so that much longer sections of rail may be used than is at present practicable, and while I have herein described and shown several preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the same relates, that changes in detail I may be made to meet any particular or peculiar requirement without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my said invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a rail joint, the combination, with a pair of rail ends to be connected, of a pair of fish plates overlapping said rail ends and adapted to fit against their webs, of means for connecting said rail ends and said plates, said means comprising studs formed integral with one of said plates and having their free ends passing through slots in said webs and into aligned openings in the other of said plates, there being aligned grooves in the outer peripheries of said studs and the inner peripheries of said openings adapted to receive a mass of molten metal for securing the parts together.

The studs 3|, 3| are 2. In a rail joint, the combination, with a pair other of said legs, there being aligned grooves in of rail ends to be connected, of a pair of fish plates overlapping said rail ends and adapted to fit against their webs, of means for connecting said rail ends and said plates, said means comprising studs formed integral with one of said plates and having their free ends passing through slots in said webs and into aligned openings in the other of said plates, there being aligned grooves in the outer peripheries of said studs and the inner peripheries of said openings adapted to receive a mass of molten metal for securing the parts together, and gate means for pouring said metal into said grooves.

3. In a rail joint, the combination, with a pair of rail ends to be connected, of a pair of fish plates overlapping said rail ends and adapted to fit against their webs, of means for connecting said rail ends and said plates, said means comprising studs formed integral with said plates arranged in alternately opposed relation and having their free ends passing through slots in said webs and into aligned openings in the opposed plates, there being aligned grooves in the outer peripheries of said studs and the inner peripheries of said openings adapted to receive a mass of molten metal for securing the parts together.

4. In a rail joint, the combination, with a pair of rail ends to be connected, of a pair of fish platesoverlapping said rail ends and adapted to fit against their webs, of means for connecting said rail ends and said plates, said means comprising studs formed integral with said plates arranged in alternately opposed relation and having their free ends passing through slots in said webs and into aligned openings in the opposed plates, there being aligned grooves in the outer peripheries of said studs and the inner peripheries of said openings adapted to receive a mass of molten metal for securing the parts together, and gate means for pouring said metal into said grooves.

5. In a rail joint, the combination, with a pair of rail ends to be connected, of a pair of angleshaped members overlapping said rail ends having vertical legs adapted to fit against their webs and having inclined legs adapted to fit over their bases, of means for connecting said rail ends and said members, said means comprising studs formed integral with one of said vertical legs and having their free ends passing through slots in said webs and into aligned openings in the the outer peripheries of said studs and the inner peripheries of said openings adapted to receive a mass of molten metal for securing the parts together.

6. In a rail joint, the combination, with a pair of rail ends to be connected, of a pair of angleshaped members overlapping said rail ends having vertical legs adapted to fit against their webs and having inclined legs adapted to fit over their bases, of means for connecting said rail ends and said members, said means comprising studs formed integral with one of said vertical legs and having their free ends passing through slots in said webs and into aligned openings in the other of said legs, there being aligned grooves in the outer peripheries of said studs and the inner peripheries of said openings adapted to receive a mass of molten metal for securing the parts together, and gate means for pouring said metal into said grooves.

7. In a rail joint, the combination, with a pair of rail ends to be connected, of a pair of angleshaped members overlapping said rail ends having vertical legs adapted to fit against their webs and having inclined legs adapted to fit over their bases, of means for connecting said rail ends and said members, said means comprising studs formed integral with said vertical legs arranged in alternately opposed relation and having their free ends passing through slots in said webs and into aligned openings in theopposed vertical legs, there being aligned grooves in the outer peripheries of said studs and the inner peripheries of said openings adapted to receive a mass of molten metal for securing the parts together.

8. In a rail joint, the combination, with a pair of rail ends to be connected, of a pair of angleshaped members overlapping said rail ends having vertical legs adapted to fit against their webs and having inclined legs adapted to fit over their bases, of means for connecting said rail ends and said members, said means comprising studs formed integral with said vertical legs arranged in alternately opposed relation and having their free ends passing through slots in said webs and into aligned openings in the opposed vertical legs, there being aligned grooves in the outer peripheries of said studs and the inner peripheries of said openings adapted to receive a mass of molten metal for securing the parts together, and gate means for pouring said metal into said grooves.

AMEL B. BROLUSKA. 

